Harry william mobbs and alfred lewis



(No Model.)

H. W.-MOBBS &A. LEWIS.

TREE FOR BOOTS 0R SHOES. No 589,666. Patented Sept. 7,1897

WQZ emfw. deem UNITED STATES PATENT HARRY TVIIJLIAM MOBBS AND ALFRED LEXVIS, OF KETTERING, ENGLAND.

TREE FOR BOOTS OR SHOES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent-No. 589,666, dated September '7, 189'7.

Application filed January 23, 1897. Serial No. 620,377. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that We, HARRY WILLIAM Moses and ALFRED LEWIS, boot-last manufacturers, residing at Kettering, in the county of Northampton, England, have invented certain new and useful. Improvements in Trees for Boots or Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention has reference to trees for boots and shoes, and relates more particularly to those that are used in factories in the treein g,shaping, and polishing operations just before the boots are sent out ready for sale.

As an operator has many pairs of boots or shoes through his hands in a single day, each of which he has to put upon the trees and remove therefrom after treatment, it is of great importance that he should be able to put the boots on and off of the trees easily and quickly without straining the boot.

With the ordinary tree having the usual rigid fore part there is considerable resistance during insertion and removal by reason of the point of the toe bearing heavily upon the bottom or insole of the boot being treed. In overcoming this resistance much skill and and more or less force has to be employed, which sometimes rucks up the sock and strains the boot.

The object of our invention is to construct the feet of the trees so as to facilitate the application and removal of the boots and shoes, thereby increasing the daily output in the hands of a single operator, who when aided by our invention need not have acquired that knack which the best and quickest operators now appear to possess and without which the application and removal of the boot is exceedingly difficult.

In carrying out our invention we joint the tree at the toe, so as to permit it to turn upward like the toes of the human foot when the boot is being applied or removed, such turning or bending upward greatly facilitating the application and removal of the boot, so that it can lee-readily accomplished by any ordinary unskilled hand.

Our invention consists in the novel construction of the toe-joint, as hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows in side view a tree-foot embodying our present invention. Figs. 2 and 8 are detached plan and end views of a preferred form of joint in an open position, and Fig. 4 is an end view of the same joint closed.

It will be seen that the toe part a of the tree is jointed to the after part I) in such a way that it can be bent upward into the drawn position,

The normal position of the parts is that shown by the dotted lines, and the bent position is that assumed during the insertion of the tree into the boot or its removal therefrom. If desired, a spring or springs as may be provided, as shown in the drawings, to impart a tendency to the toe part to resume, after bending, the normal or dotted position.

The joint which we have selected for illustration comprises a pair of metal plates, preferably malleable cast-iron.

c is one plate screwed to the toe part a of the tree and carrying curved arms or projections 0 c. d is the other plate, screwed to the part b of the tree, having holes to receive the arms 0'.

Before fixing the plates in position in the tree they are fitted together by passing the arms 0 through the holes in the plate (1 and securing them by pins 6, passed transversely through the ends of the said arms. W'hen fixed in position, the connected plates 0 (Z shackle together the parts CL b of the tree and form a joint which permits the parts to lie closely together, as seen in the dotted position of Fig. 1, (the arms 0 in that case projecting into a space prepared in the tree at the back of the plate (1,) or allows the parts at to be drawn asunder and bent into the position shown in full lines in the same figure. distin guishing characteristic of this joint is that all parts of the connection between the toe part a and the principal part b of the tree-foot are entirely within the tree, not any of said parts being at the surface of the tree. This, besides enabling a perfectly close joint to be made be tween the two parts a and I) when the part a consistingof plates secured to the divided is in its norm'al position, permits the Wooden parts of the tree to be rasped or cut to change curved arms, substantially as set forth. the shape of the tree after the parts have been HARRY WILLIAM MOBBS. 5 permanently connected. ALFRED LEXVIS.

What We claim as our invention is- YVitnesses: In toe-jointed trees for boots and shoes, the A. M. TROUP,

\V. MAY.

hinge or shaokling device above described,

portions of the tree,and connected together by 10 

